FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez will deliver the keynote at the Grassroots Radio Conference next month in Spokane, Wash.
This year’s conference is hosted by 88.1 KYRS(FM), “Thin Air Community Radio,” and it will take place at the Spokane Central Library Sept. 11—14. A different noncom or LPFM station hosts the event each year, which began in 1996. Last year’s event was held in New Orleans.
Organizers said it brings together a cross-section of independent radio operators, including engineers, station staff, policy advocates and nonprofit media professionals.
For Gomez, as the lone Democrat FCC commissioner, it is another opportunity to highlight what she sees as dangerous policies brought about through Republican Chairman Brendan Carr and the Trump administration. She is expected to speak on a range of regulatory and policy issues, including First Amendment expression, the role of local journalism in democratic systems and efforts to preserve media diversity in the face of market consolidation. A public Q&A will follow her remarks.
Other presenters on the schedule include Jennifer Waits, college and community radio historian, and a session from Ken Freedman, 91.1 WFMU(FM)’s station manager.
Service providers in the industry will also have the opportunity to network directly with station managers and engineers.
Michael Bear, the KYRS station manager, said the event is one of the few national conferences solely focused on noncom radio infrastructure, and its goal is to strengthen the tools and networks for local stations.
KYRS signed on in 2003 and was itself founded mostly by the efforts of volunteers. It has approximately 40 live and local shows that cover music and culture. Its primary signal is licensed to Medical Lake, Wash., and it also operates a translator on 92.3 licensed to Dartford, which covers Spokane proper.
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